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Donald Trump's Administration Will Be the Wealthiest in Modern U.S. History

Elizabeth is a writer based in Chicago, IL. Follow her on Twitter @ekingc.

Dec 01, 2016

Image via USA TODAY Sports/Robert Deutsch

It's true that nobody hurting for cash has held a top government position in recent times, but Donald Trump is assembling the wealthiest administration the nation has ever seen, according to the Washington Post. And though Trump promised his supporters that he wouldn't get in bed with Wall Street and that he would fight for working class Americans, his administration is about as far removed from the middle and lower class experience as they come, and experts say this could spell trouble for those of us who aren't rolling in the dough.

The Washington Post reports that when George W. Bush took over the White House in 2001, he entered with an administration whose inflation-adjusted net worth was around $250 million, an amount equaling one-tenth of the net worth of the president-elect's nominee for treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. Mnunchin previously worked as a banker for Goldman Sachs, a company Trump repeatedly attacked during his campaign.

Mnuchin isn't the only person who Trump has tapped for his cabinet that is absolutely loaded, either. Billionaire Betsy DeVos has been selected for education secretary, and commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross is worth $2.5 billion, the Post reports. Among the many concerns raised by Trump's administration so far, being out of touch with the needs of Americans whose paychecks come with about one-fourth of the zeroes of the various secretaries is certainly one of them.

POST CONTINUES BELOW

Sherrod Brown, a Democratic senator from Ohio, told the Washington Post that Trump's appointments are not a surprise, and that "the appointments suggest that he’s going to break his campaign promises." Brown warns that this likely spells trouble for middle and lower classes. "The research really says that when you put a bunch of millionaires in charge, you can expect public policy that helps millionaires at the expense of everybody else," Brown said.